There is an urgent need to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a green house gas caused by the combustion of fossil fuels and is identified as the primary cause of global warming. There is also a need to reduce many harmful pollutants identified with fossil fuel use reported to be causing serious health problems worldwide.
It is generally agreed that combustion processes are extremely complex with many reactions and processes occurring over very short time spans measured in micro seconds. Our knowledge of the gas or vapor phase of combustion also indicates that the atoms and molecules in the gas phase are undergoing over 10 billion violent collisions/second. Some of the scientific roots of this process have been found to be in the emerging field of Condensed Matter Physics which is concerned with understanding distinct states of matter, namely gas, liquid, solid, and plasma. The diversity of systems and phenomena included in this field makes condensed matter physics the largest field of contemporary physics. It is also reported that one third of all United States physicists identify themselves as condensed matter physicists. According to current literature this field has a large overlap with chemistry, materials science, and nanotechnology, and there are close connections with the related fields of atomic physics and biophysics. Theoretical condensed matter physics also shares many important concepts and techniques with theoretical particle and nuclear physics setting a clear precedent for the claims of this invention.
Catalysts are commonly used to reduce pollution levels. However, the catalysts of identified herein are not commonly used. Their high effectiveness is attributed to a very high level of particle activation produced by the process described herein.
Currently there is only one primary approach being seriously considered and funded for of preventing carbon dioxide levels from continuing to build up in the earth's atmosphere and cause the severe climate changes identified with global warming. The principal method being considered, namely carbon capture and storage (CCS), is a very expensive and a potentially dangerous process. Capturing and compressing CO2 requires the use of a considerable amount of energy and would increase the fuel needs of a coal-fired plant utilizing CCS by 25%-40%. These and other system costs are estimated to increase the cost of energy from a new power plant with CCS by 21-91%. These estimates apply to purpose-built plants near a storage location. Applying the CCS technology to preexisting plants or plants far from a storage location is more expensive. A prominent government official with responsibilities to solve this problem has termed this challenge a nightmare. Carbon dioxide under high pressures used in this process are quite slippery and leaks that have occurred have been lethal to animals and humans.
Some other solutions being investigated include deep ocean storage with the risk of greatly increasing the problem of ocean acidification, dead zones, reef destruction and sea life kill-off in a manner similar to toxic and acid laden air pollution.
Although the processes involved in CCS have been demonstrated in some isolated industrial applications, no commercial scale projects which integrate these processes exist, and therefore the costs are uncertain. However, some recent credible estimates indicate that a carbon price of US$60 per US-ton is required to make capture and storage competitive, corresponding to an increase in electricity prices of about 6 cents per kWh.
A method of growing algae as a means to capture CO2 is being developed. However, this procedure it is still in the experimental and development stage. Cost and capacity are a challenge and it does not seem to be scalable to a sufficient level to turn around the current trends in carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere.
The process described herein brings with it a huge financial incentive for the profit lines of users because of reduced fuel consumption. With this comes less fuel throughput producing less pollution. In addition, the process also reduces pollution levels from fuels burned.
As oil dependence increases, proven reserves become depleted and sources such as strategic reserves enter into fall-back planning, the process set forth can become a strategic reserve in its own right and a viable solution to the issue of oil depletion and dependency on unfriendly and unstable suppliers to a civilization vitally dependent on energy, especially foreign oil supplies with exposure to vulnerable “choke” points in worldwide supply systems.
Coal is also being recognized as a major source of contamination and has been universally recognized as a “dirty” energy source. This process set forth herein brings the promise of clean coal and a revitalized economy for the world with rising employment statistics.